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Roseanna has expressed her anger and dismay that Gordon Banks, the MP for Ochil & South Perthshire, was amongst the 28 Scottish Labour MPs who voted with the UK government in support of £75 billion of cuts and tax rises.

She said:

“I am absolutely appalled at the Labour Party for voting with the Tories to back austerity cuts which will cause even more hardship for many individuals and families and I am particularly disgusted that Gordon Banks - who is supposed to represent many of my constituents in Westminster - was amongst those who trooped through the Aye lobby, arm in arm with the Tories.

“Equally, I am proud of my SNP colleagues – including Pete Wishart who represents the rest of my constituency – who stood against the austerity agenda.

“In government in Scotland, the SNP has a strong record on protecting our public services and supporting public-sector workers – including the recent funding announced for NHS boards across the country. But the impact of Westminster’s austerity agenda is continuing to be felt – and with more cuts being passed down the line, the strain on our vital public services can only increase.

“That is what Gordon Banks and his Labour colleagues have voted for and one consequence of their actions is that we should never again be told that only Labour will stand up to the Tories. They are two sides of the same coin.

“Labour have shown their true colours in siding with the Tories, and it shows now even more clearly that only by voting SNP can Westminster's obsession with imposing austerity cuts - that just don't work - be changed.”